


Used

by donnarafiki



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Azkaban, Draco Malfoy in Azkaban, Drarry Discord Writers Corner Drabble Challenge, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Injustice, M/M, harry (and hermione) to the rescue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-18
Updated: 2018-11-18
Packaged: 2019-08-25 10:11:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16659209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/donnarafiki/pseuds/donnarafiki
Summary: His hair was gross. He used to comb it with his fingers. He used to count his days too. Now he doesn't do much of anything.The act of doing requires too much hope. Draco Malfoy lost hope a long time ago.It's only fair. Why, Draco doesn't know. It hurts too much to think about. Messy black hair on a hospital pillow. Pain caused by his hands. Second chance forever ruined.It was only right of them to take him away. No matter if he doesn't remember doing it.Like the judge said. Evil is something you can't change. And Azkaban is a good place for Evil.





	Used

**Author's Note:**

> The first part is written for the drarry discord drabble challenge, the second part for my own broken heart who can't bear leaving my boys broken like that. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy<3

His hair was gross. He used to comb it with his fingers. He used to count his days too. Now he doesn't do much of anything.

The act of doing requires too much hope. Draco Malfoy lost hope a long time ago.

Or maybe only yesterday. The act of remembering is still an act, and Draco stopped playing a long time ago.

 

His joints hurt. There's a faint thought of bubble baths each time his knees cramp up. Lock up.

Locked up.

 

He doesn't know for how long. He used to count his days. Now he doesn't do much of anything.

 

It's only fair. Why, Draco doesn't know. It hurts too much to think about. Messy black hair on a hospital pillow. Pain caused by his hands. Second chance forever ruined.

It was only right of them to take him away. No matter if he doesn't remember doing it.

Like the judge said. Evil is something you can't change. And Azkaban is a good place for Evil.

 

He used to believe he'd changed.

 

 Now he doesn't do much of anything.

* * *

 

His hair is gross. Harry combs it with his fingers, but stops when he’s met with too much resistance. It’s too tangled up, and the last thing he wants to do is hurt Draco more.

He’s still so angry about everything that happened that his hands are shaking. If it weren’t for the cramped up boy in his arms, every ministry official who had worked on Draco’s case would be dead now. Or at the very least in the same cold prison they had dared to put Draco in.

They’d only just came out to the public when it happened. A surprise attack that seemingly brought Harry to the very brink of death. In reality it was just an elaborate sleeping charm, but one that was ancient enough no one could identify it. Well, no one except Hermione of course.

But even she’d needed weeks to find it, and by that time Draco had already been successfully manipulated, framed and locked away. Four months, the entire ordeal had lasted four months. Four months in a maximum security cell, on a cold damp floor without any of his meds.

Draco’s knees, which had been fucked up enough during the war, might never recover. And Harry doesn’t even dare think about his mental state. So instead of thinking, he acts. He sends the nurses away and helps Draco into pyjamas himself. And when he’s awake enough, they soak in a medicinal bath together.

That’s where they are when Draco first speaks again. His eyes fill with surprise and fear when he starts to recognize Harry. “You…I-, I hurt you.” 

“You didn’t.” Harry doesn’t even realise he’s crying when he speaks. “I promise you, you didn’t. What they told you was bullshit. You’re not a bad person Draco. You’re not evil. And you didn’t hurt me. They framed you.”

“Frame…?” Harry sees the wheels turn behind Draco’s eyes, but the word makes no sense to him. He’s still so far away, the intelligent witty man Harry fell in love with replaced by a scared, broken boy. The urge to kill everyone responsible comes back full force. “But we were together. And you were hurt.”

 “I was only asleep, Draco. I was never hurt. I promise.” Harry looks at Draco with all the love he can muster, hoping it would somehow get through to him. But Draco moves to the back of the tub and climbs out of it when he can’t create enough distance between them. His knees shake under the little weight he still carries while his hands quickly curl around the edges of the bathrobe he pulls over himself.

 “They promised… They promised I would be safe. I wouldn’t hurt anyone anymore if I confessed.” Draco clasps a hand over his mouth as soon as he sees Harry flinch in pain. “I hurt you. I have to go back. I can’t… I don’t deserve this freedom. I have to go back.”

 Keeping the pain from his face is the hardest thing Harry has ever done, but he manages as he climbs out of the bath and puts on a robe as well. “You didn’t hurt me Draco. You made me the happiest I’ve ever been in my life. None of this was your fault, Draco. I promise.”

 “I don’t want to hurt anymore.” Draco whispers, and Harry is only just in time to catch him before he collapses on the tiled floor. “I don’t want to hurt _anyone_ anymore.”

 Harry is quite sure both confessions hold a very different meaning, even if Draco doesn’t look like he agrees with that.

 “You don’t hurt people, Draco, not anymore. You protect them. But there’s no need to protect anyone from yourself. You’re not a bad person. You’re not evil. You didn’t hurt anyone.” Harry breathes in deeply before he continues, fighting his tears. “You love people. You loved me. You’ve seen my darkest, most fucked up corners and you still loved me. _That_ is what you do.”

 “I love you.” Draco lifts a single finger, tracing a slow pattern across Harry’s cheek. Harry wants to cry with happiness. “You’re not hurt?”

 “No.” The tears come anyway, but Draco looks like he understands them. They don’t stem from pain. “I’m not hurt Draco. I’m happy.”

 Draco’s eyes grow wide, reminding Harry strangely of a puppy. “Did I make you happy?”

For the first time in months a proper smile grows on Harry’s face. “Yes. Very.”

Draco smiles back, hesitant but happy. “Then I’ll stay.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed this I would love some kudos or a comment, they feed my writers soul<3


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